Tow car advice

[hillndale]

Hello,
I've always towed my car with a trailer (or many times didn't bring a car on trips) but have recently decided to try towing car with wheels on ground. I've never done it before and am interested in learning all of the ins and outs of it. I guess the upside is you can disconnect and use it in a matter of a minute or two as opposed to undoing tie downs, putting ramps out, etc with the trailer (not to mention then have to find place to park trailer). Anyway, i'm looking at a used Chevy Tahoe two door as a possible tow car.

The reason i'm consider this is because it is relatively short, not too heavy (approx 4600lbs), has bench seat across front for total seating for six and is four wheel drive with good off-road capabilities for some of the wilderness exploring we like to do. So my question is would this be a suitable vehicle to use as a tow car? Would there be any downside to towing this vehicle? Also, how much impact does a car of this size have on fuel mileage?

I will be towing it with a Marathon XLII that we just made a deal on with Marathon in Oregon.

[hillndale]

Also, forgot to mention the Tahoe is a '98 in case that makes any difference with towing/electrical hookup.

[Gil_J]

If your Tahoe is a 4 wheel drive it should be towable on all 4. Here's agood guide: http://towingworld.com/PDFS/DinghyGuide2011.pdf

In my opinion, wheels down towing is the only way to go if you can get bywith a wheels down towable vehicle. The biggest differences in opinion arewhat, if anything, to use for a supplemental braking system for the towedvehicle. My opinion is that one of the two air driven proportional systems isthe way to go. The M&G system will not fit a lot of late model vehicles. Iuse SMI's Air Force One, which will fit on almost any vehicle. A simple airhose connects the towed vehicle to your coach and it has the most important (myopinion again) break-away capability. Some will argue the coach has plenty ofreserve braking capacity or that these systems aren't required by law. In manycases the state laws are being misinterpreted. Aside from that, don't you wantyour towed vehicle to have some form of stopping on its own in the unlikelyevent it departs from your coach?

To prevent the flames that likely follow, let me say that I'm offering myopinion and that a supplemental braking system is required by the state ofFlorida where my coach is registered.

Gil

[BrianE]

We are towing an '05 Tahoe with an M&G brake system. We are very happy with this setup. This is the 3rd vehicle we have had the M&G installed on and consider it the best and simplist of of the choices. As to mileage, we are getting about 7.5 mpg. The 5200lb Tahoe costs one mpg at worst. We use a Roadmaster Falcon towbar with a Protect A Tow rock shield. Working together my wife and I hook up and unhook in about 3 minutes.

If you plan on towing in Canada you are required to have a brake system with break away stopping capability. In the states, the consensus seems to be that the requirements of the state the vehicle is registered in prevails.

[Jamie Bradford]

Hi Robert,

I have been towing a 2003 Escalade for about 3 years now. I had a drive-shaft disconnect put on and that has worked fine. As far as fuel consumption - I have not really noticed much difference between towing the car and not towing it. It takes me less than 5 minutes to hook up and to unhook.

Jamie

[hillndale]

Gil,
Is the supplemental braking system fairly easy to install or something would need to have done by professional?
Thanks,
Bob

PS: btw- nice CountryCoach! I really like that paint design and color scheme...very classy.

[hillndale]

Thanks. Would it be safe to say that coach brakes would wear out faster if we didn't use a supplemental system and that should weigh in to the equation? Also, has anyone ever heard of a vehicle breaking loose on highway?

[jack14r]

I installed my M&G brake system on a 1500 Silverado and on a Saturn Vue,I did the break-away on the truck.The Truck was much easier than the Saturn,you must also run an air line from the rear brakes on the bus to a fitting that will be mounted to the rear of the bus.I don't think that it is too hard just don't get in a hurry and follow instructions,the M&G has been perfect for 5 years.

[hillndale]

Also, I had heard that it is a little easier with a car with manual transmission because you don't have to start car every so many miles. Is that accurate?

[jack14r]

I don't know about the older 4 wheel drive GM stuff but the 2007 and newer 4WD trucks do not have a steering wheel lock and when you take the transfer case out of gear then you put it in park and turn the key off,therefore you do not pull fuses or have to worry about the battery discharging.

[Gil_J]

Bob,

I've installed the Air Force One system in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2012 Ford Explorer, both pretty straight forward installs. FWIW, the M&G system would not have fit either of these vehicles. I did not do the install on the part that goes on the coach because I'm not crawling under it. On this bus and my Beaver Contessa it cost less than $200 to have someone do the on coach installation. I also installed the Roadmaster base plates in both. My preference is Roadmaster over Blue Ox. Others will lean toward Blue Ox.

Without supplemental braking yoiur coach will have more weight to stop. I don't think it makes a big impact on brake wear on the coach simply because the supplemental braking systems shouldn't be braking as hard as the coach. The last thing you want is to have the towed vehicle braking so hard that it's attempting to stop the bus.

[Liam]

I bought a 92 CC last year and just tool my first trip pulling a 2005 Suburban 4WD. Easy as pie.

Two observations:

1. Had to return my AF-1 and install an M&G as my Chevy has a brake booster that runs on power strering fluid and not vac. Love the Blue Ox baseplate. Can't even tell it is there.

2. Got a little paranoid as everyome I looked at my rear camera it looked like the same white SUV was following me!

[hillndale]

Thanks everyone for all of the very valuable advice/information. Definitely answered my questions. You all really make the POG a great resource.

[Woody]

We towed an Escalade for several years with no problems except - the braking system we used drew a lot of juice when in the mountains and would discharge the car battery - there is a kit to trickle charge from the coach. Well worth it.

[hillndale]

Would a Nissan Xterra 4x4 with manual transmission be a good choice as a tow car? I'm thinking it might be better than my first choice (older model Tahoe) because it is a little lighter and more compact but want to be sure that there is no downside to it.

[Ronald Hiemann]

We tow a 2012 Lincoln MKX 4-down. We have the Blue Ox plate, the Aventa hitch and the SMI braking system. Here below is a user feedback statement I sent to SMI just a few days ago.

Sometime in late 2011 I purchased the Air Force One system through Luxury Coach Sales & Service in Marion, OH and had it installed at their facility.
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I have since driven our Prevost bus, towing a 2012 Lincoln MKX, for about 8,000 miles.
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The system has performed flawlessly.
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I have been in a very tight spot very recently, driving through NJ, when I approached a hidden fork on the Interstate, on the other side of a small hill, and found myself staring at 2 cars stopped dead in my lane.

Apparently, the car in the front had missed the fork and wanted to exit left, whereas it was stopped on the right.
*
I had no warning and could also not switch lanes. All I could do is hit the brakes and watch…..
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Fortunately, I was able to stop 54,000 lbs. worth of Prevost just in time. There were probably only 2-3 inches of space left between me and the stopped car in front of me.
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I also watched in amazement when the first car pulled over to the left, crossed a couple of lanes to exit using the left fork.
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In any event, I was able to stop the bus and our tow, which stayed in a straight line behind us.
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I do not know how a different braking system would have worked but can tell you I was very happy to see our tow straight behind us and undamaged.
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Air Force One … highly recommended.

I had the installation done professionally and the total cost for the complete towing package, including adding separate
LED brake lights for the SMI system, inside the original housing, came to about $4600 which I consider money well spent. The SMI is a semi-permanent installation since all the components are "under the hood". It is being activated by connecting a small diameter air hose between the car and the bus. Other than the actuator bracket permanently attached to the brake pedal inside the MKX, as well as a nifty red LED on a cord which attaches via Velcro to the back of the rearview mirror and can be observed in your rearview camera, there are no other parts inside the towed vehicle.